In the late afternoon of Sunday, November 29, 2020, police in Enid, Oklahoma, received a distressing 911 call reporting the discovery of a woman's body in an alleyway. Responding to the 700 block of West Nagel, officers found 27-year-old Martika Ferguson, a Black female, who had been fatally shot. The news of her violent death sent ripples of shock and grief through her family and the wider community.
Her mother, Effie Ferguson, was left to deliver the heartbreaking news to Martika's young son.
The Enid Police Department launched an intensive investigation, dedicating over 280 hours to unraveling the circumstances of her death. Their efforts led them to a suspect, 30-year-old Shane Dale Perosi. On the following Tuesday, officers and a SWAT team executed a no-knock search warrant at a residence on West Rush, where they uncovered evidence connecting Perosi to the crime. Surveillance footage also played a crucial role in identifying the man who was last seen with Martika.
Upon his arrest, Perosi confessed to shooting and killing Martika Ferguson. He chillingly stated that he did it to 'teach her a lesson' and, during his booking at the Garfield County Detention Facility, reiterated his confession, adding that he was 'glad he'd done so.' It remains unclear what he meant by his statement or if he and Martika knew each other prior to the incident. Perosi, a white male with a previous felony conviction for assault and battery on a police officer and child abuse, was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, destruction of evidence, and possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction.
